NIR Photometric Standard Stars

Standard star observations are required for NIR photometry. These observations allow the calibration of data acquired into a magnitude or flux scale. Below are links to catalogues of photometric standard stars that can be used with Gemini near-IR imaging instruments. If possible use the UKIRT1
MKO JHKL&prime M catalogue (Leggett et al. 2003, 2006), as these data are on the same photometric system as the Gemini cameras. The Persson et al. (1998) 2 and Hunt et al. (1998)3 JHK catalogues can also be used, but there will be small (up to 3%, or 10% for the Persson red stars) color terms introduced by the use of a different photometric system. Hunt et al. should be used primarily as a source of brighter standards. See the camera web pages for guides to appropriate calibrator magnitudes.

Hunt et al. (1998, AJ 115, 2594) reported J, H and K observations of 86 stars in 40 northern hemisphere fields containing UKIRT Faint Standards. K magnitudes range from 8.5 to 14 and J-K colours from -0.2 to 1.2. Typical errors on the photometric results are 0.012 magnitudes. The full electronic version of the Hunt et al. (1998) paper contains finding charts for all sources observed. The full catalogue of sources, coordinates and photometry can be viewed at the following link:

Persson et al. (1998, AJ 116, 2475) reported J, H, K and Ks observations 65 faint stars forming a grid of faint near-IR photometric standards. The stars have K magnitudes between 10 and 12 and are measured to a precision of 0.001 magnitudes. A secondary list of 27 red stars suitable for the determination of colour transformations is also presented. Note these red stars will require a large (up to 10%) color correction to get them onto the Gemini MKO photometric system (see discussion in the Leggett et al. JHK (2006) paper ). Avoid S705-D which may be variable (Leggett et al. 2006). The
full electronic electronic version of the Persson et al. (1998) paper contains finding charts for all sources observed.